A Day in the Life of a Seminarian: The Hidden Years

[Music] a lot of us probably don't know a lot about what goes on in priestly formation we tend to take our priest for granted every six years or so a new pastor walks into the parish and the former one leaves but where does that new priest come from perhaps you know that priests come from the seminary is seminary then just some sort of priest factory that pumps out priests when we need them at the end of chapter two of luke's gospel it reads and he went down with them and came to nazareth and was obedient to them and his mother kept all these things in her heart and jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with god and man and after this scripture goes quiet until we enter the stage of jesus's life known as his public ministry but what happened in those some odd years of jesus's life what happens in those seven to nine years before that new priest is ordained to public ministry he advanced in wisdom and in stature and in favor before god and man as with jesus these years of growth are known as the hidden years [Music] most seminarians begin their day around 5 a.m to allow for ample time to get washed up and have their heart and mind prepared for community worship and community worship usually begins around 6 30 a.m with morning prayer and then masked immediately to follow and then at 7 30 a.m we have breakfast the academic day begins around 8 a.m and will go on until about 3 30 pm depending on what classes you take college-level seminarians take philosophy courses and intro theology courses now however despite the large chunk of the day dedicated to class times academia only makes up one aspect of priestly formation for instance every man gets assigned what's called a house job where he's entrusted with some responsibility that not only contributes to the well-being of the whole community but is also there to help form the man himself [Music] well hello zach typically what are people's reactions whenever you tell them that you're the head m.c or head master of ceremonies before coming to seminary i actually didn't know what a master ceremonies was so it's kind of been a learning process for myself and usually when i talk to other people about it i just kind of explain about how it works with training alter servers as well as coordinating the different liturgies here at the seminary can you give a quick rundown on the complexities of the job it's mainly regarded with training the alter service beforehand on preparing them for their liturgies but as well afterwards giving them feedback on advice or ways to help them in serving in the liturgy also with working with the other mcs it's helping make sure that we're on the same page when it comes to being a tight-knit group and lastly working with father swift to make sure that we're all doing everything well in terms of liturgies at the house so why is this job so important how does it prepare you for priestly ministry i think it's important because for all seminarians but for me as well it's helping to help us have a proper disposition towards the liturgy about being able to have a certain respect for it and looking towards the priesthood knowing that we're wanting to celebrate the liturgy prayerfully but as well respectfully too [Music] so jacob you're 22 years old how often does it cross your mind that you've been entrusted with an 8 million dollar building i think the times that it that i'm reminded of it most is anytime i like give a tour or am with somebody the first time they they come in and see everything and just like wow like look at all this this is great i'm like oh yeah this is like this is like quite the gift um that that i've been kind of entrusted with hey so uh give us a rundown of your daily responsibilities as cfsa head a lot of what i do is just just general walk-throughs making sure like all the stuff we've been given has been taken care of organizing the guys that clean it on a regular basis just organizing the seminarians to just be good stewards of the building so how does this job prepare you for your future priestly ministry it's all about stewardship i think all of these beautiful churches that some point as a pastor you're going to be in charge of are there because of the generous gifts of the people of god in this building it's like this is a space for you to form yourself to be a better man which is ultimately for the people of god now priestly formation is about forming the whole man so even though not every seminarian will have the opportunity to be the cfsc head or the head of liturgy like jacob or zack there are various other house jobs assigned by the formation faculty with the precise purpose of forming or challenging that man in some particular aspect of his person howdy my name is cameron cola jinzak and my house job is being a member of the advancement team which basically means that i help with public relations for the seminary everything from social media to the website to our big fundraisers that we do every year hi my name is shane clee thermos and i am the sports coordinator here at hts and my job as sports coordinator is being the main contact for ud rec sports and so we can get involved with the intramural tournaments up on campus and i also coordinate the athletic events here at the seminary my name is william dobrin i'm the librarian this year as a librarian my duty is to reshelve books other seminarians check out for their personal use and then log new books to summer nearby's into our system hello my name is jeremy casal my house job is the inframarion my role is to take care of any of my seminarian brothers who are sick or injured hello my name is ben crocker i am manager of the seminarian snack shop and game room as my house job this is a place where after dinner me and my brother seminarians can come to get a drink or snack play games in the game room such as foosball ping pong or pool and just a place where we can enjoy each other's company additionally men are also assigned a pastoral ministry or practicum assignment so that he might put his formation into action and these assignments can be anything from working in the food pantry to homeless ministry to rcia to hospital and prison ministry and the like all so that he has hands-on experience that he can take and apply in his future ministry one day on top of his classes at the university of dallas a holy trinity seminarian also has formation classes or sunday conferences which focus on more pre-specific topics they can be anything from celibacy to the liturgy to parish life and the like he will also have one-on-one meetings with a formation advisor who is there to accompany him and help guide him through his discernment of god's will in addition to nourishing his own spiritual life through prayer and devotions a seminarian is also assigned a spiritual director who is there to direct him in integrating god's grace into his very person thus making him a complete man a man more configured after the person of christ therefore a seminarian must be both diligent and responsible in finding the balance between both his seminary obligations and his personal and academic obligations [Music] at the end of a normal day a seminarian has evening prayer at 5 15 pm followed immediately by communal meditation and then dinner from 6 to 6 30 p.m every evening is a seminarian's free time but everyone's schedule varies depending on the day and their own obligations for example there's music practice every thursday but even more practice if you're on the scola who have to practice at least twice a week and even more so if they have to teach the whole house so then in the midst of all this activity one might wonder how does one keep from getting overwhelmed well the short answer is christian joy and community our community here is a very joyful community we like to go out and see movies with each other we like to just hang out in the hallways tell jokes and just have a great time with each other and grow closer to each other every day going into the chapel in between my morning and afternoon classes keeps me from getting overwhelmed from the stress that i have starting out seminary and reminds me why i'm here everything we do here is intended to bring us closer to god it is in this sense of purpose that i find great joy because we have such an awesome community here at hts i really find amazing support with my brothers here in the house to allow me to de-stress and to step away from the business of everyday seminary life the community here at the seminary has been a great source of joy to me my brothers seminarians getting to know them and letting them get to know me has been a way to know how to love others and to receive love from others [Music] like how much of the work a mother has in raising her children goes unnoticed and unseen so to the life and ministry of a priest one is a seminarian 24 7. he doesn't get a break from formation but christian joy permeates one's entire life and is present even when things go unnoticed in john's gospel jesus tells his disciples so you have sorrow now but i will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you [Music] so in the midst of all the activity and demands of priestly formation by faith in christ we are promised a joy that can never be taken away and the joy that accompanies such an adventure is nothing other than the delight of the father and the life to come [Music] just how jesus prayed to reveal the love of the father so too is it my prayer to reveal to you the love of a priest and that love begins here and now in seminary during these hidden years [Music]

Channel: Holy Trinity Seminary

Views: 10,860

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Id: ntl9CKz4iBM

Length: 11min 55sec (715 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 01 2021